


Knife Wife and Trash Husband walk into a bar (The bartender keeps them both)

by Justm3h



Series: Plotted Stories Half-Written [4]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Falling In Love, Gen, Mihawk adopts all the kids, Mihawk is much drama, Mihawk is wine mom and knife wife all in one, Multi, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, but Shanks is more
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-23
Updated: 2020-07-24
Packaged: 2021-02-27 00:28:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21528370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Justm3h/pseuds/Justm3h
Summary: In a world where your soulmate's first words to you are inked on your skin, Mihawk hears his from an angry, broken boy on the worst day of his life, and it's all downhill from there.
Relationships: Akagami no Shanks | Red-Haired Shanks & Benn Beckmann, Akagami no Shanks | Red-Haired Shanks & Dracule Mihawk, Akagami no Shanks | Red-Haired Shanks/Dracule Mihawk/Makino
Series: Plotted Stories Half-Written [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1205341
Comments: 12
Kudos: 298





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to midnightluck for the title and summary as words were failing me.
> 
> Might have art for this in an update but that will come when I'm closer to finishing part 2. 
> 
> Enjoy~

Soul bonds.

A companion for life. A friend, foe, or even a lover. 

Soulmates.

Someone out there that balances your existence out. Could be your complete opposite or someone who compliments your flaws.

You knew at once when you found them; their first words to you were written on your body at birth.

Dracule Mihawk had heard his words years ago, from none other than that bastard Red Hair. 

It was at the site of the Pirate King’s execution. 

The Swordsman could still remember the ruckus Shanks was causing, his shouts and tears threatening the attention of the Marines.

“Shut up, cabin boy; do you want to die just like your captain?”

"Fuck off—don’t talk to me," and Mihawk says nothing, because what could he say when those were _his words_ ? "No—you don’t get to say that shit to me, not today of all days," The Pirate King’s cabin boy says, showing as much backbone as his captain had. “ **So back the hell off.** ”

And maybe he was just a bit more like his captain than he’d thought as others fainted around them.

The spirit of a king: Conqueror’s Haki.

The sobs burned as much as the letters that looped around his bicep. They had to go. 

_Now_.

Mihawk gets them out of there, his soulmate putting on a brilliant performance as a sack of potatoes. But Mihawk gets them away and the other quickly repays him by _getting drunk_.

He’s a sobbing mess by bottle 1, an angry drunk by 2, and passed out in his own vomit by the end of 3.

By all accounts, Mihawk should have left him; he would have done much less for anyone else. The world would likely be a better place with less fools. And yet here he was, peeling off disgusting clothes, catching words on the redhead's shoulder.

... that weren’t his.

‘Captain,’ it read. Just that. Where was the rest of it? That can’t be all.

They didn’t match? But...

Mihawk left the boy, cleaned and in a fresh set of clothes, passed out in bed.

Soul bonded. Soul bonded but not soulmates.

That’s what they were.

Mihawk could have convinced himself that even that was a lie, smothering that feeling of connection until it died--if it not for the fact Red Hair, Shanks, kept finding him.

At first it was to thank him. Or at least he tried, until Shanks remembered just what Mihawk had done to upset him in the first place. They fought and it was _exhilarating_.

Mihawk had heard rumors, but fighting the King’s prodigy was something that tales could not replicate. He was still better; he would be the best. 

But...

A challenge was always appreciated to test his skills.

It was almost like friendship, very much a rivalry, and entirely one sided in affection; Mihawk had fallen in love with the fool along the way.

After chasing so many away and killing countless challengers, he came back. Again and again.

It was odd but Mihawk was content. He had achieved his dream and, for as much as he was able, had someone he cared a great deal for.

So when one day, years after their first meeting, Shanks asked him to meet at a floating restaurant in the backwaters of the East Blue, Mihawk hung up the transmitter before he finished. 

Mihawk agreed only after a dozen repeated calls and promises of wining and dining him; a low blow indeed.

The novelty of a restaurant at sea was a possibility only in the Blues; the Grand Line’s erratic weather patterns would make it impossible to predict and avoid.

The swordmaster wasn’t expecting much, even less so when the doors open to reveal the ongoing of an infamous Red Hair Pirate Party. But he begrudgingly sat with Shanks at a table off to the side of the chaos where Red Hair was well on his way to being drunk.

“Hawky! You made it! I wasn’t sure you’d come!”

“Captain thought you might’ve agreed only to not show up,” Benn chuckled around a cigarette, and laughed when Shanks swatted at him.

“Don’t tell him that.”

“Your faith in me notwithstanding Red Hair, what did you want? I will not be pleased if you called me out here just for a party.”

“But I throw the best parties!”

“Red Hair.”

“Fine, fine.”

“Let the man order something first, Captain, before you talk his ear off,” Benn chuckled again when Shanks sighed, a dreamy look on his face.

It wasn’t long before the staff, an intimidating chef with a tall hat and peg leg, laid out a meal fit for a king in front of him. The wine alone was worth the trip, much better than what he had had recently. After a few sips, ignoring Shanks’ ever-growing eager enthusiasm was impossible.

“What is it?”

“I found a woman!”

...

“What?”

Shanks wove a tale about taking a vacation in the East Blue to recover after new attention from the Marines from his latest bounty-

“You mean hide out.”

“Hawky please, I am telling a story.”

Mihawk snorts into his glass of wine but waved a hand for him to continue. He tried not to notice the group was forming around them, listening to their Captain talk so passionately.

Shanks began again talking about visiting islands, picking up new crew mates, and finally about a cozy town with windmills. Frankly, it seemed like the last place you would find a pirate like Red Hair but that’s where they’d made port one day, in search of a drink.

There was only one bar in the sleepy town of Foosha, so scouts were sent ahead to see if the owner would serve pirates. Things looked promising when they came back to say that if they didn’t cause trouble and could pay the bill, they were welcome. 

“I entered the bar to the beginnings of a good night, and it only got better when I spotted her. A pretty little thing rolling a fresh barrel out from back, her cheeks a little rosy from being out of breath. Her hair the color of a shaded tree that I could sit under and stare at for hours. I was so mesmerized by her beauty I didn’t notice the crew pointing me out to her, and when I saw her eyes-“

“Spare me your poetry, Red Hair.”

“She smiled at me and called me Captain, Mihawk. My Words.”

Mihawk could barely stop himself from choking or worse spilling his drink all over his shirt.

“Oh?”

“Yes, I’ve heard them before, so many times but never like that and never from her lips.” But Shanks slumped, the sparkle in his eye dimming, “But my words were not hers.”

“...oh?” So another mistake?

“I thought I could stop thinking about her, sail away and never return. But I took us back again and again to hear her voice and see her smile. All so I could pine over a woman whose other half is out there just waiting for her.”

The sniffles of the crew were fairly audible, a murmur of sympathetic apologies from the restaurant staff.

_Unbelievable_.

The rest of the night was no better, though the party did pick up again, Shanks continued to wallow away in misery. Benn admitted this had been the worst of it, having built up over the weeks. The captain didn’t know what to do.

Mihawk was beginning to see a plan of his own. He was suspicious--not at all jealous--of this woman that had stolen the heart of a pirate.

Foosha, was it? Perhaps in the morning he would sail out that way to meet her.

* * *

A few days later, Mihawk floated into the small town of Foosha.

He supposed the tiny place is charming, and quiet in a way the Grand Line never was and often the other Blues weren’t privileged to have.

It didn’t take long to find the quaint bar; it really was the only place to get drinks. He entered the Party Bar, thankful he left Yoru on the boat, and spotted the woman immediately behind the counter.

She looked up from cleaning a glass with an easy smile that furrowed only slightly at the sight of a stranger, but then the smile is back with a fondness Mihawk hadn’t anticipated.

“Ah, I had a feeling you might visit. Mihawk-san correct?”

Thrown for a moment, he scoffed. It seemed Shanks couldn’t help himself. “Red Hair has a big mouth.”

The glass dropped from her hands, landing with a thud on her counters.

“W-What did you say?”

It’s a look he’s seen before, a mix of shock with eye so wide they are about to cry.

“You have got to be kidding me.”

The swordsman needs a drink. Several after listening to Red Hair, and now _this_. 

Makino--he was going to have to remember her name now--was breathing a bit too quickly for his liking. “Sit down before you collapse,” he said, navigating her to a bar stool. He replaced her behind the counter, reaching for a bottle of wine before thinking better of it and taking something stronger.

Mihawk poured himself a glass, making it double after looking at her pale face.

The most impressive thing he had seen from her yet was how she slammed back the drink like it was a shot.

“Y-you said my words.”

“And I heard mine many years ago.” Mihawk filled her glass again, taking a seat next to her at the bar top. “Captain, you called him. And his words to me are written around my arm. Do you see where I’m going with this?”

“Oh.”

“Yes, _oh_.”

They drink and talk, Mihawk pleasantly surprised at the good conversation. It’s after a few more drinks that they agree that Shanks needs to be a part of this talk as well.

Makino takes out a snail to call Benn asking them to return, quickly but not an emergency. It would take a few days, reported the first mate, as the Red Force was a ways out, near the calm belt. Till then, Mihawk would have to stay in port.

The bartender offered up her couch but he declined; the weather was nice enough to stay on his ship and he didn’t know her well enough.

That would change over the next few days.

There honestly wasn’t much to do in the small town, Mihawk was able to scope out the area the next morning and visiting Goa was unappealing as the rotting fish breath of a seaking. He supposed there was the jungle nearby but he wasn't in the mood to kill rude bandits.

So he mostly sat at the Party Bar, sitting off to the side watching his other soulmate work. Makino was hard-working, being the owner and only employee of the establishment. It was impressive how she was able to handle her customers and made him still feel... important.

They had quiet conversations as she worked on drinks behind the counter, and when she wasn't busy, she made sure there was a glass of wine or a snack within reach. He honestly hadn’t been this doted on in some time and it was pleasant. Nice. Perhaps even a bit...like love.

Mihawk met the infamous littlest Monkey named Luffy, who was just the type of child Red Hair would take a shine to. The Swordmaster didn’t mind sharing a few tales with the kid, he had to set the record straight from whatever lies Shanks had told. They were toned down, though; the child didn’t need to know how much blood was on his hands.

He shared stories about an island at war, with monkeys that used to heal picking up weapons and imitating the human fighters around them. Luffy lit up as he talked about difficult opponents and victories.

Luffy wasn’t the only listener. While the kid was fond of the adventures, Makino seemed to lose herself in the description of the places. For someone who had never left her island, the world was large and mysterious, and the Grand Line the strangest of all.

“Red Hair could take you there, if you wished.” 

“No, he’s offered before. My place is here; who would look after Luffy?”

Day 2 of the wait and Dracule, for all he talked about himself yesterday, wanted to know more about Makino. He asks little things about her life, how she became a bartender and the like. It took some egging, as clearly she wasn’t used to talking about herself; a damned shame that. But once she began, he found himself lost in her voice.

A half a week of being a bar decoration later, Makino told him in the most polite terms that had ever been directed at him to get out.

With his options limited and still unwilling to deal with the hell hole that was Goa, Mihawk felt the forest could be worse and at best he could at least help feed the little monkey; his appetite was on par with Lucky Roo’s.

Running into a set of little boys was not part of the plan, nor was their attempt to rob him. The pair of brats tried to attack him with pipes, of all things. The way they were talking had him tempted to take both by the scruff and let Makino wash their mouths out with soap. She seemed like she would be happy to mother more kids.

No, there was a line he would not cross and it would be courting using children. Plus, they bit and smelled.

So perhaps knocking them into the river was not a mistake, but he left them half of the alligator carcass as compensation.

Mihawk switched between staying near Makino and exploring the jungle. The beasts weren’t as strong as the Humandrill or other similar creatures, but between them and the brats that kept attacking him, it relieved some boredom. And with his time by Makino’s side he helped with little things, such as sharpening her knives and fixing a few household problems.

It was on one of those excursions that his Haki picked up the bright presence of the Red Force and her crew. He cut play time short with the two wild children, leaving them with his kill for the day.

Shanks was panicking in the Bar when he finally arrived, with Makino and Benn trying to calm him down with no success.

“Control yourself Red Hair, you’re an embarrassment.”

Shanks turned around, “Where were you?!”

“In the jungle, which you would know if you bothered using Haki. Or has your vacation let you be that lax?”

Shanks sputtered for an excuse, Benn snickering around his cigarette, and Makino torn but overall amused.

“No matter. Get out, you lot, I need to talk your captain.” The crew stares and Mihawk snarls, “in private.”

The crew scrambled out, knowing not to test his short patience. 

Benn looked to Shanks, got a shrug, and turned to leave as well but was stopped by Makino.

“Stay. I think as First Mate you need to hear this as much as Shanks.”

“Oh?” Benn tilted his head, eyes gazing between the three. The smirk told Mihawk that the man had very much guessed where this conversation was going.

He just hoped there wasn’t a bet going on between the crew.

“What do I need to hear?” Shanks, the fool, looked confused. But his brains were more geared to fighting than common sense, so Mihawk supposed he could forgive him there.

“Captain, she called you, correct. That single word on your shoulder. You said it felt right but your words were not hers.”

Shanks flinched, the air growing still. “I didn’t take you to be cruel, Mihawk.”

Mihawk ignored him, “Do you know her words, Red Hair?”

“... No, I didn’t want to know.”

“ _Red Hair has a big mouth._ ” Makino spoke up, her kind smile turned to the both of them. She sat at the edge of a stool, pulling up her skirt just inches but still getting blushes from the men. Slipping off her left shoe and sock, the words were clear around her ankle. “Those are my words.”

“What?” Shanks fluctuated between fury and deep sadness. But he seemed to figure this one out, turning to Mihawk. “You?”

“Me, Red Hair.”

“I-I don’t want to hear it.”

“Oh, I think you will.”

“Shut up!”

“You’re getting closer,” Mihawk took off his jacket revealing his own soul mark wrapped around his bicep. “Do you remember the first day we met?”

“You mean the worst day of my life? I try not to.” That stung but...

“I remember it well, bittersweet as it was. After all, that’s when I heard my words, ashamed as I was of having them.” They weren’t pretty, weren’t nice, much like what he had said to deserve such a response.

“So tell me Shanks, do you remember your words to me?”

Shanks stepped towards him, the swordsman offering up his arm as Red Hair traced the unkind words. 

“By the seas, you’ve been here this whole time.”

“Of course I have, idiot.” Of course.

Eyes shining, filled with tears and emotions, Mihawk wasn’t ready for what happened next.

Shanks swooped forward, holding Mihawk’s head still with hands at his jaw. They were so warm, so distractingly warm, that he almost missed the kiss.

It was just like Red Hair, forceful but gentle, and tasted a bit like rum. And Mihawk found he didn’t mind the taste.

“Seas, I have had the biggest crush on you _for years_.”

_What_.

Shanks was already on the move again, giggling madly and dragging him along over to a very amused Makino.

“And you, my dearest Makino, I know exactly what love at first sight is because of you.” He single-handedly scooped her up to his chest to kiss her as well. Dazed and with a blush now too, she laughed into Shanks collarbone.

Entirely too pleased with himself, Shanks glowed as held them close. “Benn! We have to celebrate! Let’s party!”

“Of course, Captain.”

“Damn it, Red Hair!” Mihawk was tired; he didn’t want a party.

“Let me have this Hawky. I just found out the two people I love are my soulmates! No offense, Benn!”

“None taken, Captain.”

And it was a party. The crew of the Red Force had learned well from their captain and were masters at it.

It lasted till well into the morning. Benn cashed in on a bet with a satisfied grin, Makino wasn’t allowed to do her job and was pampered by thrilled Pirates, and Shanks refused to let either of his soulmates out of arm's length.

Mihawk had to admit the night was as much as he could hope it would be. He didn’t have to hide anymore, didn’t have to worry about Shanks hating him. No, the night ended like a dream, Makino taking both of them upstairs and they simply cuddled on her small bed until one by one they fell asleep.

“Ma-chan!”

Mihawk startled away, eyes opening his eyes to see-

“Luffy?”

“Ma-chan! Why are Shanks and Hawky in your bed?”

“Luffy! Why are you here?! You know better than to come in here without knocking!” She scrambled out from tangled limbs, quickly scooping up the boy.

“But it was open!”

“No excuses! You know better.”

“But you didn’t tell me why they slept with you.”

“You’re not old enough to know that, Anchor.”

“Meany Shanks!”

It was too early for this.

Breakfast was the most domesticated thing Mihawk had participated in for some time. And admittedly he was quite content during the whole meal.

Reality hit after, as Makino cleaned up with Luffy’s help. The two couldn’t stay on the island together long. It was a risk enough with both of them in the East Blue; with two of the strongest men on the seas in one place? The Marines wouldn’t be able to resist.

Benn scheduled visits so they could all spend some time together, whether it was them spending a lone night once a month at the Party Bar or little dates. Mihawk thought the term was archaic but Shanks found humor in being able to take Mihawk back to the Baratie. 

“Was our first date there or meeting at Loguetown? _Does that count_? Benn, does that count?”

“Shut up, Red Hair.”

To say that the next few months were the happiest of Mihawk’s life would be an exaggeration, but not a big one. While it was difficult to all be with each other, it was nice to know how the pieces all fit together at last.

He was able to fight Shanks and some low class wannabe pirates. He was able to have a quiet dinner with Makino and check in on those wild mountain boys. 

It was nice.

It was nice until it wasn’t.

Mihawk rushed back to the small island when Makino rang about Luffy’s newest attempt at getting Shanks to let him join his crew. The kid was certainly enough of an idiot to think that stabbing himself in the face would be enough to sway that decision.

He arrived to a normal uproarious Party Bar, full of laughter and smiles that had a bit more of an edge than normal. Perhaps it had something to do with the shattered remains of chinaware Shanks sat in on the ground.

“Red Hair, I sincerely hope you haven’t started bathing in alcohol because _I will stab you_.”

“Come on Hawky, call me Shanks! You and Makino never call me by name.”

“Irrelevant,” huffed the swordsman but Makino got a playful look in her eye.

“Oh?” she kneeled closer to him, fluttering her lashes. “Is that what you want, _Shanks_?”

Red Hair sputtered incoherently, Mihawk having to chuckle at her cunning along with the rest of the crew.

“Why are you laughing?!” Luffy shouts, finally having enough. This wasn’t how he imagined pirates would act, just joking off humiliation like that.

Shanks tried to calm the kid down; the three had previously talked about Luffy’s infatuation with pirates. He himself may have been part of a crew since he was a child but Makino put her foot down at the same possibility for Luffy. “Look, I know how you feel but it’s just a bottle of rum. There’s nothing to get worked up about.”

Luffy huffed with all the annoyance a 7-year-old could muster and turned his back on Shanks, intending on walking away. “I don’t want to see you again, coward!”

Mihawk was almost proud. It looked like Luffy had picked up something from him after all.

“Oh, c’mon, don’t go, Luffy.” Shanks grabbed onto the child’s wrist so he couldn’t just walk away.

Except he did, walking halfway across the bar, arm stretched behind him.

“Wha-” the bar exploded into commotion. It seemed Red Hair’s most recent booty contained the Gomu-Gomu no Mi, which Luffy had mistaken for dessert.

Mihawk was struggling to decide which of the pair was more of an idiot, as Shanks had taken Luffy by the ankle, shaking him as if that would get the fruit out: Luffy for thinking anything in a small chest was okay to eat, or Shanks who left the damn thing unlocked.

There was nothing that would sober up the crowd faster though, even if Makino and himself had to comfort Shanks who felt guilty, this being the second time he’s been the cause of someone accidentally getting powers from a cursed fruit.

“Am I cursed? Hawky, you would tell me if I’m cursed right?”

“You’re not cursed, Red Hair.”

“You’re just saying that to make me feel better.”

“... when have I ever lied to you to make you feel better?”

Makino clapped her hands in front of both of them, “I think both of you need a break. The bandits won’t be back for some time, so both of you sail away for a bit and clear your heads.”

It wasn’t a suggestion. The next day she tossed both of them out, much to Benn’s on going amusement. 

Luffy refused to see them off like normal. Mihawk hadn’t even had time to check on the mountain brats.

They set sail together in the Hitsugibune, which was just big enough for the two of them. It’s not like they had a destination in mind, but they still ended up at the place they first met.

Loguetown.

Not much had changed since they last had been there; the scaffolding still towered in the center of town.

But Shanks seemed to know where he was going, with Mihawk’s finest bottle of sake in hand: to a graveyard by the water. To a stone with just the initials _GDR_ on the front. _Oh_.

“He liked the sun more than the rain… I hope he gets more of that here.” Shanks says, looking down at the grave, expression hidden by the strawhat. “I don't come here much. It’s too dangerous.”

“One of your smarter decisions… who buried him?”

“My bet’s on Garp. Captain cut everyone off in the end, giving his freedom for ours,” Shanks admitted, sitting down near the grave and pouring 3 drinks. Mihawk joined him after a moment's hesitation, taking one of the drinks.

They sat, sitting there amongst the dead who wouldn’t tell, drinking with the long ago passed Pirate King.

“I’m thinking about passing on this hat to Luffy.”

“Hmmm?”

“He reminds me a lot of when I was given it by my Captain. Young and full of dreams.”

Mihawk hadn’t known that the hat had once belonged to Roger but it would make sense with how much Shanks cared for it. For him to give it to Luffy…

“He’ll go far.” It was impossible for him not to. The Will Of D was alive and strong within Monkey D. Luffy. Shanks seemed to know more about the hat as well, but would never say.

“Yeah.”

* * *

The two pirates left the bottle, grave, and island behind as the sun set. The stars were enough to guide the Hitsugibune back to the Red Force. Tying the smaller coffin shaped ship to the stern to tow, they set the navigators on a path back to Foosha.

Something was wrong when they entered port. No one was there to greet them, and while the town wasn’t exactly fond of pirates, they always had some smiles for Makino’s boys. The port was quiet, but the street down the way was not.

Mihawk let Shanks take the lead, not only because he hated bandits but because that was Luffy on the ground. Anything Shanks would do to them would be up to him and the boy.

“I was wondering why no one welcomed us at port. So this is why.” Shanks stepped forward, a hand reaching out to hold Makino quickly. “Hey, you guys are the bandits from the other day.”

“Captain, is Mihawk-?” she asked quickly, getting a nod to behind him. She smiled, seeing Mihawk step behind her in support, “I’m glad both of you are here.”

“Red Hair has this.”

“I’m glad both of you are here,” she repeated firmly, reaching out to hold his sleeve and he let her.

Shanks, or Benn really, handled the bandits like they were nothing. The East Blue never really knew what was lurking in their waters and Shanks never really gave it a reason to be concerned.

But the Bandit was a slippery one, quick enough to use a smoke bomb and make his escape. 

“Don’t panic, Red Hair. You and your crew search the area; I’ll check the jungle.”

“But Hawky-!”

“Don’t make me repeat myself!”

“Those two…” smiled Makino.

“And they’re yours,” Benn chuckled with her.

Mihawk couldn’t expect the threat would be so soon and so devastating. He had only gone to the jungle; he was the most familiar of its twists and turns for a successful search when it happened. It flickered on the edge of his sense, the deep foreboding that weight down his limbs.

Even at his fastest, he was too late. Shanks was in harbor floating with a single arm around a sobbing Luffy. _Just one arm_.

They spent the night on the Red Force, after Makino was finally able to put Luffy to sleep, all cried out. The ship’s doctor had Shanks on strong painkillers but thankfully the bleeding had stopped.

“Looks like I won’t be a very worthy rival anymore, Hawky.”

“Don’t you dare joke about this, Red Hair.”

“Who’s joking, can’t even— _can’t even hold both of you at the same time anymore_.”

“It doesn’t matter, _Shanks_ ,” Mihawk spoke, but they all knew that wasn’t true. It was a weakness, one that would make pirates and Marines alike target him more.

“I’ll have to leave.”

“I know, but you were never planning on staying, either of you.” Makino spoke into Shanks’ side, clutching at him like he’d vanish from her grasp.

“I thought about staying… giving it all up.”

“I’d never let you.” They each had their own dreams to accomplish. For Shanks, it was the adventure, Mihawk’s was to be the best, and Makino still had the bar and Luffy to look after. Maybe in the future that would change, but for now they each had their place.

“I’ll stay. I have a distraction in mind that will keep eyes on me.”

“What do you mean?”

“Keep a lookout for the news and… promise not to hate me.”

“Never. Never in all these years and never now.”

* * *

Shanks departed in a few days, staying only long enough for him to get past the worst of the pain. Makino and Mihawk watched as he passed down the hat, with its legacy now resting on the young 7-year-old’s shoulders.

A week later, Mihawk’s wait was finally over. The Hero of the Marines arrived, dressed more like a civilian than one would ever expect.

But he was there as a grandfather, not a Vice Admiral. Oh, how quickly that would changed.

Garp had barely walked through the door, just spotting Mihawk by the bar top, but his reflexes were still good enough to tense before he could open his mouth.

“Hawkeyes.”

“I accept.”

“...what?”

“The Shichibukai position. I accept.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There are good times, which make the bad times all the worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You might notice how the chapter count was changed from 2 to 3.
> 
> Well, this chapter got a bit away from me and I realized it was better to just split it all into two. 
> 
> Thanks as always to midnightluck who edited this chapter.

“Walk with me,” Garp orders after a few beats of silence. “I’ll be back in a bit, Makino.”

“Garp-san, he-“

“It’s fine, Makino,” sooths Mihawk, eyes not leaving Garp, not daring to let the Hero of the Marines out of his sight.

They exit and Mihawk follows as Garp leads him to the jungle. The Marine seems familiar with its twists and turns, though Mihawk can’t tell if that had to do with him growing up on the island or him traveling these woods more recently. It’s lucky that his hand is already reaching for Yoru, perhaps triggered by Haki, that he was able to block Garp’s fist.

“What’s your plan here, Hawkeye? What are you doing on this island?” Garp pulls back for another strike, only to be blocked again by Mihawk’s black blade.

“I’m only interested in protecting me and mine; becoming a Shichibukai accomplishes this.”

“What-“ a left hook, “-do-“ a follow up with an uppercut, “-you-“ left again, “mean?”

“You must know her words, or else you would have never let Red Hair operate so freely in your waters.”

“So it was you!”

“Listen to me, Monkey D. Garp. My words were hers but hers were not mine.” A fist stops inches from his face but Garp’s position is no better with Yoru halted mid swing.

“What?”

“All three of us are soulmates, Garp; Makino, Shanks _and_ I.”

“ _What?_ ” Garp’s fists have fallen to his side.

“Surely you aren’t this dense.”

“Senny sure likes to think so,” Garp chuckles weakly, but his mood turns sour once more. “The Marines--the World Government can’t learn about this.” 

“No one has ever suspected anything between Red Hair and I; we were rivals for too long. I’ve made no secret that I frequent the Baratie, so my being in the East Blue shouldn’t draw undue attention,” Mihawk says. “This is why I have chosen now to accept. The World Government has hounded me for years to join their new program though I wouldn’t deign to be a Government dog. But now--now I have people I wish to protect.”

“Roger’s brat can handle himself, but that won’t help Makino much if they figure it out.”

“Then I shall simply cut down any who dare threaten her.”

“Good answer. All right, I’ll take ya to the nearest Marine Base to call it all in.”

That isn’t ideal, being surrounded by Marines like that, but he supposes it can’t be avoided. “Understood.”

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” Both adults look up as Luffy bursts through the brush, yelling and running until he stands protectively in front of Mihawk. “You can’t take Hawky! I gotta protect him for Shanks!”

“What… what is this?” Garp looks down at his grandson. It’s hard to tell just what the Marine is talking about precisely; the protective stance, the new scar or the strawhat hanging around his neck.

“Shanks told me to look after what’s precious to him and that means Hawky, Ma-chan, and this hat!”

“That is not what Red Hair said,” Mihawk sighs, but the two ignore him and continue.

“What else did Shanks say?” Garp twitches but Luffy doesn’t see his looming doom.

“He told me to return his hat when I become King of the Pirates!”

“HE WHAT?!” That does it and Garp snaps, grabbing Luffy by his cheek. “NO GRANDSON OF MINE IS GOING TO BECOME A PIRATE! I RAISED YOU AND ACE TO BE MARINES!”

Ace?

“OWOWOW! I DON’T WANT TO BE A DUMB MARINE!”

“BRAT!”

The two scuffle with each other, Garp using some Haki to make his point clear but not seriously hurting his grandson, which is the only reason Mihawk doesn’t step in.

Garp eventually holds Luffy aloft by the cheek, Luffy squirming and slapping helplessly against the large man’s leg.

The old marine grumbles about Luffy going soft in Foosha and the devil fruit making his mind mush, walking further into the jungle with a destination clearly in mind. Makino looks offended but is soothed some when Mihawk offers her his hand to hold for the rest of the journey.

Garp leads them to a stronghold in the thick of the forest, and bandits, of all things, apparently live there. The bandits leave a bad taste in the swordsman’s mouth with the recent loss of Shank’s arm still so fresh, but the healthy dose of fear they hold of Garp is enough to stop him from just... taking Luffy, consequences be damned. 

“You want me to take in your grandson too!? We have enough problems with Ace!” The leader shouts at Garp, her underlings cowering behind her.

“All right, I’ll let you choose: jail or look after my kid,” Garp guffaws. “I’ve overlooked as many crimes of yours as there are stars in the sky.”

“If that’s true, I’m not sure how much I like Luffy staying here,” Makino comments with a frown. “And you think here with bandits is better than with me in Foosha, Garp?”

“Aw, Makino…” 

“No, Garp,” Makino stops him, already upset from the earlier comment about her home. She takes several steps forward to stand in front of Garp, looking up at him. “Tell me why you thought it was a good idea--when I raised him, when you want him to be a Marine--to leave him with _bandits_.” 

“...He’s not yours, Makino.”

The silence from the adults is deafening. The bandits watch as Makino registers the words Garp had dared to say.

“I’m sorry, did you just tell me the boy I potty-trained isn’t mine? The child who I’ve clothed, fed and loved from the moment you handed to me all those years ago? I have spent more days with him than you have spent hours-”

“This is my final decision Makino. _Please_.”

The scariest part of the whole exchange is how Makino takes a deep breath and calms herself from fury to a _smile_.

“Well then, if I can’t change your mind, I see there’s nothing I can do. I guess I’ll have to visit when I can--with the proper escort, of course.” She waves a hand towards Mihawk. “Surely you couldn’t mind that?”

“Oi! Don’t we have a say in this?” sputters the bandit leader, her posse rallying behind her.

“Oh, I never introduced myself. I’m Makino. This is Dracule Mihawk. _My boyfriend_.”

“...Dadan.”

Mihawk can sense the mood, sparing the lot a look that’s equally bored and deadly. It seems quite effective, judging from the fearful faces.

But…there’s a twitch at his senses and he turns just in time to see one of the munchkins he had been…training, spit in Luffy’s face. How vulgar. It seemed he was going to have to add manners to the list.

“Oh, Ace!” Garp calls, a warm smile on his face, having recovered from Makino’s fury already. It’s somewhat of a surprise to see an adult caring for him; Mihawk had been under the assumption that no one looked after the child and his friend but it seems like they take after Garp’s wild side rather than having no adult supervision at all.

It’s too bad the two kids don’t seem to get along, if the echoing glares mean anything. Mihawk isn’t sure how long that would last; Luffy is easy to love. He won over a pirate crew, won over himself, and he’d win over a 10-year-old.

“It’s settled! I’ll leave him with you!” Garp laughs at a furious Dadan. “I’ll bring the rest of his things up tomorrow!” The bandits try and fail to convince him otherwise, and the group of adults head down the mountain after some goodbyes and promises to visit. Mihawk is sure to give the group a parting glare; he expects it will be more than threatening enough.

~~~

“Did you just call me your boyfriend?” 

“It’s okay, sweetie; the captain is Boy Toy.”

Seas, he loves this woman.

~~~

“DIE, YOU SON OF A BITCH!”

“Language.”

The next day, while Garp is off delivering a small case of Luffy’s clothes and such to the bandits, Mihawk makes his way into the forest.

The two mischief makers aren’t too hard to find, not for him, not with Haki.

Their attack could be mistaken for normal, no less violent than any other if not for the verbal threats and cursing that accompanies it.

“Should’ve known with how strong you are; you’re working for Gramps, spying on me!” Ace snarls, holding on to his pipe with white knuckles.

“I do not work for Garp.” He’d never live it down, despite the man’s legend.

“Liar! Then what were you doing with him at Dadan’s?!”

“He assaulted me, and we made an accordance.”

“What?” Ace sputters, failing to understand the words.

“They came to an agreement,” the top hat-wearing child speaks up. A higher education, or well read? “But it doesn’t mean he hasn’t been spying on us the whole time.”

“Both of you keep ambushing me.”

“You keep leaving half your kills behind! We don’t need your pity.”

“You are _children_ -“

“No one cares about that, no one cares about us. So either leave us alone or kill us like everyone else keeps trying to do.”

“Do not treat your life as if it is worth so little,” Mihawk snaps, stopping them both. “Fight so that you can become stronger. Fight to survive. Isn’t that what you’ve been attempting, attacking me all this time?” 

He’s frustrated; it’s not the first nor the last time he’s seen the youth of today throw their lives away so willingly, but never quite this young and clearly unaware of the reprieve he has allowed them. If they refuse to see that, perhaps he should demonstrate. “Very well.” He reaches for his smallest blade, the kogatana dangling at his neck. 

“What?” Top Hat starts but is silenced when Mihawk cuts through a tree with a single swing.

“My apologies for not making this more apparent. I allowed the attacks as I had thought you considered it a test of your skills.” The swordsman sheaths the little blade back in place. “If I wished to kill ants, I would hunt full-sized ones.”

“...Ace, we should go.” There was a deep fear there now, in Top Hat’s dark eyes, that hadn’t been there before. Unfortunate but necessary.

“No, Sabo,” Ace says, gripping his weapon all the tighter. “I won’t run.”

The boy does quite the opposite, attacking head-on with a lunge. The initial charge isn’t impressive but he adds some follow-up swings to change it up. 

“You’ve improved, but--“ Mihawk catches the pipe mid-swing, lifting it and Ace off the ground. “--not enough.” With a single strike, Ace flops unconscious into his arms.

“Give him back!” Sabo snarls, scared but still standing against him to protect his friend. Ace may be stubborn and foolish but he also has the loyalty of those close to him.

“Very well,” he says and tosses Ace’s limp body at the blond. Sabo manages to catch his friend, dropping his pipe instead of letting him fall. It takes some maneuvering, but he manages to get Ace on to his back and still carry both pipes. “Take care of him, and of yourself.”

Sabo glares. “I don’t trust you.” And with the last word, he runs off back into the jungle.

“... I suppose that’s understandable.” Understandable, yes, but also disheartening.

~~~

The paperwork to become a Shichibukai is lengthy and Mihawk can see why it requires a trip to the closest Marine base.

Shell Town is about as impressive as its Captain Morgan, which is to say not at all. The man is well on his way to being that same sort of shortsighted bastard the Marines are so fond of producing.

Garp makes the whole process slightly easier, fast-tracking the response and required documents so everything is official. It’s about the only thing he can do for Mihawk without giving anything away. 

“Welcome to the life of a Government dog.”

“Delightful.”

~~~

Mihawk knows he can’t spend all his time on Dawn Island. He makes appearances on the Grand Line to attend the new Shichibukai duties required of him. So far, it isn’t much more than he would have done himself; mostly it’s taking down some cocky rookies who are causing more chaos than they had the right to make.

Still, he aims to come back once every month, to check in on Luffy and Makino at the very least. Ace and Sabo had made it very clear they didn’t want to see him, and sadly seemed to extend such feelings towards Luffy too.

“Why don’t they want to be friends with me?” 

Mihawk had found the boy hurt and bruised, sprawled on the ground. He kneels down next to him, taking in the injuries, and finds that thankfully none of them are life threatening with the protection of his devil fruit.

“Did I do something wrong?” Luffy asks as Mihawk picks him up carefully, planning on carrying him back to Makino so she can bandage the worst of it. He’d run off back into the jungle soon after but bringing him to Foosha kept him safe for just a bit longer.

“I’m afraid they presumably don’t like you by association…” He can read Luffy’s blank look well enough. “They don’t like you because they don’t like me.”

“That’s dumb.”

“It is,” but they don't know any better. It’s hard living as an orphan in most environments, let alone the circumstances those two found themselves in. “They shouldn’t take out their frustration on you when I’m the one they are angry with.”

“That’s dumb too. I’m gonna make them like me so they like you by ass-ass-in-a-tion.”

“Ass-oc-i-a-tion, not assassination.” Mihawk highly doubts that word would go over well.

“That’s what I said!” 

It really wasn’t. 

“Luffy, if there’s anyone on the seas that can do it, it’s you.” 

~~~

When he had said that, Mihawk wasn’t expecting to return in a month’s time to find the three had declared themselves brothers.

He isn’t really sure how they went from enemies to brothers, but Sabo and Ace’s newfound protectiveness of Luffy is enough for Mihawk to try not to think too hard about it.

Really.

Still, if the residents of the island thought two of them were trouble, the new trio is a level of madness and chaos that the Grand Line could only dream of.

Mihawk supposes it was only a matter of time when he finds the boys bleeding and hurt near their hideout, the large paw prints nearby proving their prey got the better of them this time.

He brings them back to Makino so she can help patch them up.

Luffy, ever as resilient as the devil fruit he ate, bounces back and demands to be fed. Mihawk gets the boy a snack as Makino finishes with the other two, having to work around Ace’s lower back and Sabo’s left bicep.

“What do we owe you?” Sabo asks when she’s done.

“Excuse me?”

“No one does anything for free,” Ace mutters, crossing his arms.

Makino hums and kneels down to be eye level with the boys. “My fee will be you continuing to look after Luffy. That will be good enough for me.”

“Right!”

“Because if I hear that Luffy cried again because his brothers left him behind, I would be very disappointed.”

“O-Of course.”

Mihawk is able to stay a week before having to leave once more, but he leaves with a kiss from Makino and a hug from all three boys.

~~~

“Sorry for calling you all the way out here,” a man wearing sunglasses nods as Mihawk sits down at his small cafe table. Benn is inconspicuous enough; his hair is down, unlike his bounty poster, and the tinted optics help some more. Mihawk himself had left Yoru behind as the sword is a clear identifier and he doesn't need that right now.

“I can hardly fault you for the location when I requested a meeting.

“Had to get far enough away so the captain couldn’t follow me. Wasn’t exactly pleased when he heard about your changed status.”

“Oh?”

“Don’t get that look.” The gunner sighs, pouring him a glass of red wine. “He doesn’t like sharing. He’s not mad at you. Just worried.”

“I meant only for it to keep the world’s gaze elsewhere while he recovered. But in the end, it was the most effective way to keep her safe. Him safe. Them all safe.”

“I surely don’t have to be the one to inform you that the Captain can take care of himself.”

“I'm sure Roger’s crew thought much the same before his execution.”

“That's a low blow, Hawkeyes.”

Mihawk can do no more than shrug. He had been there during Roger’s death. He knows human mortality better than most.

“Look, was there a reason for this meeting? Leaving Shanks alone normally is bad enough but it’s worse when he’s stressed.”

“How much strength has Red Hair recovered?” Benn flinches, looking away. “I would hazard an estimate that he wouldn't even be able to take on a Paradise crew let alone the likes of Kaido or Linlin.” Newgate, at least, would not bother Shanks; the man had too many fond memories of Roger to go attacking his once-apprentice at his lowest.

“Haki helps some, but you're not far off.”

“Which is why I would like to present you with an alternative scenario. Play up our rivalry with rumors and gossip. I refuse to fight or see him after losing his arm. It will assist with separating us as soulmates. The government has been sending me out on frequent missions to prove my worth to them, so it shouldn't be difficult to distract the world with my latest status…and perhaps a challenge.” There was no end of those after his title. Throwing it around could do some good for a change.

“Do you think that's such a good idea? It could endanger Makino.”

Mihawk shook his head. “Garp is still feared by the population of pirates from East Blue and the Blue itself is too pathetic to register to any pirates already on the line.” Not to mention that as his liaison, Mihawk coming and going from the Blue would be overlooked.

“That's not the worst plan I’ve ever heard. Captain won’t be very pleased with it, though.”

“I don’t do things to please Akagami Shanks.”

~~~

It’s quiet for some months.

Mihawk is often kept from Dawn, mission after mission with additional attacks of those trying to test themselves on his blade. Yoru is more red than black some days and none provide as much of a challenge as Red Hair.

He takes joy in the days training the boys (occasionally supervising when Garp takes charge) and the evenings just conversing with Makino. She tells him what the boys neglect to mention, like their secret forays into Goa, which explains why the nobles kept harassing Garp and himself about a trio of miscreants. The home in trees they constructed all on their own. The most charming of the tales are her attempts at teaching them manners. Sabo is already knowledgeable but smiles and lies while Ace is struggling but earnest.

Luffy never had a prayer but he tries all the same.

They’re all better at fighting, though Luffy once again hasn't had much luck with a pipe.

There were things that pipes couldn't do, with or without haki.

On his travels, Mihawk finds himself looking at blades, imagining them in the hands of Sabo or Ace. They might not agree to the extra protection but it would ease Makino’s concerns--and his own.

It’s with luck that he notices two matching daggers, bigger than his kogatana, in a market on Water 7. 

The pair look intended for dual wielding but he thinks they would be remarkably suitable in the hands of Ace and Sabo. The boys would never grow out of them and the blades are well made, quality clearly unknown by the seller. Mihawk is certainly not going to inform the seller as such, and he purchases the two for far less than they are worth.

He considers wrapping them, like the gifts they were intended to be, but realizes it wouldn’t be appreciated.

Coercing the two to accept the blades would be challenging enough.

~~~

However it was not meant to be.

“My apologies, did you just say Sabo was-“

“He was taken!” snarls Ace, rage blazing in his eyes like an inferno. “His noble father took him back with the help of some pirates.”

“Sabo was--is of noble birth?” That explained quite a bit.

“Yeah but it doesn’t matter!” Luffy shouts. “He hates living there!”

If events had occurred months earlier, Mihawk might have just leveled the city with a single swing but now… “While I have a semblance of power with the title of Shichibukai, I cannot legally take Sabo back from his biological family.”

“Huh?”

“It means he’s just a government dog, Luf. Just like Gramps.” Ace glares up at Mihawk, pulling Luffy away from the swordsman.

~~~

It's with those very credentials as a Shichibukai that Mihawk is granted audience with Outlook III and his family. The man is insufferable, the type of man who thought himself a big fish in a pond when the ocean was just beyond him. The noble can’t keep his mouth shut about his “success”. His wife and adopted son are just as bad, quick to brag and with voices that could drive lesser men to madness.

The swordsman manages to keep his cool and his hand off his kogatana through the entire meeting and brunch, even as Sabo sits off to the side, silently refusing to look at him.

There is no opportunity to catch the boy without his parents or a servant to overhear, so Mihawk can only make a grand gesture the noble would be a fool to refuse.

“I must apologize for being remiss with a proper gift,” Mihawk says as they made their goodbyes in the frankly ludicrous entry hall. “A dagger for your oldest son; may it serve him well.” He kneels down to Sabo, placing one half of a set of daggers in his upturned palms.

“What?” Sabo whispers, the brim of Mihawk’s large hat hiding their brief words.

“I can do nothing more than give you this to protect yourself. Take care, Sabo; your brothers still care for you deeply.”

~~~

A week later, Mihawk receives a letter informing him of Sabo’s death.

~~~

Ace despises him, shouting as soon as he sees Mihawk’s face in the jungle. The silence he leaves the swordsman with is worse.

Luffy is clearly caught in the middle, eyes glazed over in pain even as he follows Ace.

Darling strong Makino, she cried for him when he returned but not when he too had to leave.

“You two will always be mine even if I can’t keep you myself,” the barmaid whispers in his arms, delicately rubbing circles over where his words are.

“Red Hair and I shall just kidnap you then.”

“Someday I’ll let you.”

~~~

A duel with Red Hair has been long overdue. 

It might have something to do with his haki, but he encounters no further challengers while traveling the long way to face his rival.

“Hawky? Is somethin-”

“Fight me.”

“Wha-”

“I said _take up your blade and fight me before I detach your head from your body._ ”

The following battle is exactly what he needs. Shanks had recovered quickly from his injury and he’s already developing a fighting style to suit his new predicament.

That alone provides Mihawk with a challenge that lasts them days. Haki shreds the island on which they fight. Mountains scar and new rivers form.

In the end, neither are victorious. Mihawk can only remember waking up next to Shanks in the man’s private cabin.

“Makino sent a letter explaining…. I’m sorry for your loss.”

Mihawk closes his eyes. “Dangerous for her to do so.”

“She was worried, _idiot_.”

“She needn’t be.”

“She was anyway. Frankly, so am I. Only visiting when you want to fight.”

“That part of the deal I discussed with your First Mate.”

“Don’t think I agreed with that personally, though. You hurt my feelings.” The adult pirate captain has the nerve to pout at him. “Is that all I’m worth to you? A good fight? When I can do better in bed?”

“I cannot overstate how disgusting I found that sentence.”

Still, the two stay in bed til midday, murmuring things to one another, just tangled in the sparse sheets.

Benn enters at one point, loudly declaring his eyes need bleaching to the laughter of the rest of the crew. Shanks shares the joke, so clearly they deserve each other.

Mihawk stays as long as he can, capitulating in a moment of weakness that their “rivalry” could be extended outside of just battles. It doesn't make sense for such a sudden change, after all, when they had been previously seen partying together. The plan becomes to slowly sneak other encounters back in as Red Hair recovers.

“Is that your way of being concerned for me, Hawky?”

“I just realized it would be folly to cut you out of my life so much.” And perhaps he is tired of watching people leave him behind.

“I love you too, Mihawk.”

~~~

Somehow.

Somehow, Mihawk finds some sort of routine after.

He loses himself in the work of a Shichibukai, mindlessly handling tasks thrown to him from on high.

During his travels, he finds himself a place to claim as his own. Mihawk had been to Kuraigana Island years prior, once before the Shikkearu Kingdom fell to war and once during. It had been one of the stories he had told Luffy so long ago.

Now, it was all but abandoned and in ruin, with the savage Humandrills having ended the conflict the humans had started, having copied their example. 

They try to end him too, but they’re no match. The primates usually left him alone, knowing they were outclassed, but they would sometimes still attack in groups. One even starts to intimate his own style of sword fighting, which is impressive.

In between he spends his time with Makino, Shanks or Luffy; Ace still wants nothing to do with him.

There is one memorable time when he’s able to sneak Shanks all the way to the East Blue for a surprise visit for Makino’s birthday. She claims it’s the best birthday present she has ever gotten, even better than the chef’s knives Mihawk had sent her the year before. 

“I told you I’m a treasure,” Shanks laughs along with Makino’s giggles. 

It’s a sight to behold, the three of them together after so long, so far apart.

The gathering is made all the better by the conversation Shanks and Luffy have, with the bar between them so they can’t “see” each other. Makino still has the photos.

The knife Mihawk had meant to give Ace is instead given to him by Makino on his 17th birthday, the day he sets sail. The swordsman doesn't know what she told him about the blade, if he knows the true origin, but he’s glad to see it in Ace’s first bounty poster.

It seems the young man’s attitude hasn’t changed much concerning the World Government or the Shichibukai. Reports get to Mihawk that they had tried to offer Ace an open position and the pirate had set fire to the entire entourage. Mihawk has to wonder if it was Garp’s last attempt to protect his grandson.

Shanks makes a surprise call not too long after, telling him how his kid made it as far as him, and with fancy new fire powers to boot. That explained the pyromaniac stories.

“How was he?”

“Surprisingly direct for you Hawky! Makino and I have been getting through to you!”

“Just answer, Red Hair.”

Shanks chuckles, the den den reflecting his amusement. “Kid seems like he got a good crew, if that means anything. His first mate is a doctor who seems to handle him like a champ. Name’s funny though; Masked Deuce apparently.”

“Apparently?”

“Right? They also have a literal lynx who’s crew. In pants. The cat wears pants, Hawky!” Mihawk lets Shanks ramble, resting his eyes as the man recounts partying with the other crew. If Shanks had had that good of a time, then Ace had done something right.

“He asked about you.”

Mihawk startles out of his daze, “Hmmm?”

“Ace. He asked how you were doing.”

“... And did you tell him?”

“It's not like it's a secret that we meet up, Mihawk. I told him the truth. Benn thinks he knows about Makino and us from the way he was sharing stories about her.”

“He told you stories about Luffy too.”

“Yeah, and I’m glad to hear about Anchor! But…I think he missed you.”

“...”

“Pretty sure he’s sorry.”

“He has every reason to hate me…forever.”

“Come visit me. That island is getting to you.”

“...Okay.”

~~~

In the end, Mihawk never seeks out Ace, and in return the boy challenges another Yonko to a fight.

The Greatest Swordsman in the world would later hear how Whitebeard took a liking to Ace, and how eventually the boy would call him Pops and come to finally hold the long vacant position of 2nd Commander. If the crew anonymously receives kegs of good wine and sake on occasion, well, there’s no proof that it’s from him.

He’s proud of Ace’s success. Proud of the man Ace has become.

He thinks that Sabo would be proud too.

They won’t cross paths again til Luffy set sail just 2 years later.


End file.
